Hypnotic hues in the brain

Hypnosis uniquely colors the activity of brain areas involved in visual perception, a new study finds. This result supports the view that hypnotized people enter a distinct psychological state rather than, as some scientists propose, only play a role designed to please the hypnotist.

A team led by psychologist Stephen M. Kosslyn of Harvard University took positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brains of eight adults as they viewed a pattern of rectangles shown either in various colors or shades of gray.